Week 15

I wondered into the Merlino Gallery and watched the short films that were on display. I found this one especially enjoyable and it had all of the viewers giggling the whole time. The story goes, all of the animals are out skating and the flamingo comes to join in. The flamingo can not seem to figure out why he isn’t able to replicate what the other animals are doing. The frame focuses on the legs of the other animals as the flamingo studies their technique. He then realizes its all about the bending of the knees. The flamingo then looks down at his knees, which bend the opposite way. As he replicates the technique of the other animals, he begins to skate, however, hes going the wrong way. No problem for the flamingo though, as he just bends his neck around to look behind him. He then contently skates around, backwards, with all of the other animals. Another animal then approaches who is also trying to learn how to skate. The film ends with him trying to emulate the flamingo. Needless to say, it doesn’t go well.

This video had me laughing the whole time. It also had some good messages. The flamingo learned to not let his differences hold him back. I’m not sure what the last animal learned. Maybe the message is that just because you see someone having success, doesn’t mean their doing it right. Whatever the idea was, it was a very well done film, reminiscent of Pixar short films.

I found the accompanying storyboard and sketches in the Dutzi Gallery. It looks like at some point in the process, their was a whole cast of flamingos. Maybe they are present in another story.

Out of all of the artwork that I’ve seen this semester, the short films that were playing in the Merlino Gallery impressed me the most. I find the process of animation very fascinating. I wasn’t expecting such well made, polished films like these. A+ to all the artists showcased at this weeks Illustration/Animation Exhibition.

This week I talked with Brandon Hamada. Brandon is a freshman mechanical engineering major. He is still unsure what he wants to do and is considering switching to computer science. I thought this was funny as I was the opposite. I applied to schools as computer science and computer engineering and ended up switching to mechanical engineering. He says that his dream job would be writing scripts for video games. This seems like a good path for him as he already enjoys playing video games and writing storied. It seems like the perfect fit for him.

Brandon lives at the Beachside dorms to avoid the long commute from Palmdale. He likes the dorm life as he gets to meet new people and make friends. He still goes back home occasionally for holidays.

Brandon also enjoys playing football and basketball with his friends. His favorite tv shows are Game of Thrones and Firefly.